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Cool relief blows across Phuket
PHUKET: After months of searing heat and little rain, blessedly cool weather reached Phuket today – but the relief will probably last no longer than 36 hours. Tawat Tantamanu of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center told the Gazette that the drop in temperature was caused by a low-pressure system moving up from Malaysia. “It has brought clouds and showers this…
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Fleeing Patong bombers dump grenade
PATONG: Police suspect that two young men who dumped a hand grenade in a garbage bin around midnight last night had been on their way to bomb an entertainment venue in Soi Bangla. A tuk-tuk driver alerted police after seeing a passenger on a motorbike holding the grenade. Officers were dispatched to cut off the men’s route into Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Mob blocks Laguna entrance
CHERNG TALAY: About 300 villagers from Cherng Talay blocked the entrance to Laguna Phuket today to protest over a variety of grievances against the operators of the five-star resort complex. The mob blocked hotel cars, taxis and buses, with the result that resort guests arriving or departing were forced to carry their bags through the picket lines. The protest started…
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Cobra tale ‘poisonous nonsense&’ – Super Cheap
PHUKET TOWN: The Managing Director of Phuket Town’s famed Super Cheap emporium admitted to being furious today about what he sees as a venomous whispering campaign, probably inspired by business rivals. The story going the rounds yesterday and today was that a 40-year-old woman shopping at Super Cheap went to take onions from a display in the vegetables section. As…
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Play fair, Songkhran revelers told
PHUKET: Police have issued a list of instructions to prevent next month’s Songkhran revels from getting out of hand. The list came with a plea from Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, for people to indulge in traditional water play from April 13 to April 15 without drunkenness or lewdness. In past years, people’s clothes have…
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Airport traffic in February take-off
PHUKET: Passenger traffic at Phuket International Airport rose by 8.85% in February compared with the same month last year, according to figures just released by airport officials. The statistics show that 376,829 passengers arrived at, or departed from, the airport, compared with 346,179 last February. The number of international passengers rose by 17.94% to 156,185, while the number of passengers…
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Walking street project postponed
PHUKET TOWN: The launch of the “Seven Wonders of Phuket” project planned for April 7 has been postponed until April 21. The project aims to attract visitors to the town’s historical areas with activities supporting a “Seven Wonders” theme, and by turning Thalang Rd into a pedestrian-only zone on Sundays. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to preside over the…
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Phuket ax man kills, then flees
PHUKET TOWN: A fierce argument between two laborers ended when one hacked the other to death with an ax, then fled. Police are still hunting for the killer. Officers were called to a construction camp in Sakdidet Soi 9 soon after 10 pm on Wednesday where they found a man, dressed only in blue jeans, with deep wounds at the…
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Shark rumor sparks official check
PATONG: Government officials checked the Shark Club last night after hearing a rumor that the venue, closed permanently on the orders of Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, was planning to reopen tomorrow night. Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s office Lertkiat Vongpuaphan visited the Shark Club in Patong to investigate the rumors, an officer in the Governor’s office told the Gazette.…
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Villagers fight to save klong
BANG TAO: About 30 villagers are fighting to preserve a public klong [canal] they say is being filled in by a private company against their wishes. Villagers of Baan Bang Tao submitted a complaint to the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) at an extraordinary meeting yesterday. The villagers say 10 fishing boats could once park in the klong behind…
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Injunction slapped on editors’ assets probe
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Administrative Court has issued an injunction on a money-laundering investigation into journalists critical of the government, pending its review of the matter. Senior journalists of Nation Multimedia Group (NMG), who had petitioned the court for the injunction, hailed the decision as a symbolic gesture by the judges and a strong message upholding press freedom. “This court’s…
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Briton drowns at Patong Beach
PATONG: A British man who had been living in Phuket for 10 years drowned at Patong Beach today. Police named him as Anthony Lord, 71, of Soi Sainamyen, Patong. Mr Lord appeared to get into difficulties about 10.15 am and although other swimmers raced to his aid, they were unable to save him. Pol Maj Sanguan Muangtham, Inspector of Kathu…
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Metered cabs to start April 1
PHUKET: Metered yellow and blue taxis will be cruising Phuket’s streets from April 1, says the proprietor of the private company starting the service. Tawatchai Meeniam, Managing Director of Phuket Metered Taxi Service Co, told the Gazette today that he hopes to start with five taxis, all of them new Mitsubishi Lancers. Fares for the 24-hour service will be 30…
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Drought puts spotlight on mine pits
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Town and Country Planning Department is looking into the possibility of using mine pits as supplementary sources of fresh water for Phuket, where current water resources are being depleted, the department head said yesterday. Phuket has more than 100 mine pits capable of supplying about 49.5 million cubic metres of water for consumption each year, said…
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Riddle of the frozen fisherman
RASSADA: Police believe a Filipino tuna boat crewman, whose body parts were kept in a freezer after a fatal incident at sea last month, died accidentally. After the “Hong Swun Ju” docked at Rassada on Sunday morning, the captain, Hsu Kuo-Ho, 52, told Phuket Town police what happened. He said that while fishing in international waters on February 24, he…
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Weapons of war found in Patong
PATONG: A sack of hand grenades, guns and ammunition found near a hotel in Patong has sparked a police hunt for whoever dumped the dangerous weapons. Police received a telephone call at about 6pm on Thursday, alerting them to the discarded sack of munitions found near the Patong Palace Hotel on the Patong-Karon Road. Inside the bag were two grenades,…
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Phuket Town water to be shut off
PHUKET TOWN: Central Phuket Town will be without tap water from 10 am tomorrow until about 7 am on Wednesday to allow a rainwater pipe to be hooked up to the main water supply. The hook up will be carried out at the intersection of Yaowarat Rd and Soi Rungrawee, near Wachira Phuket Hospital, where Phuket Town’s Public Works Department…
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Snatch-and-go robbers grab gold
PHUKET TOWN: Two men on a red Honda Dream snatched a gold chain from a woman’s neck on Thursday as she rode a motorcycle with her husband. The couple, Jian Boontiem, 68 and his wife Kiat Saetan, 68, told police they had been shopping at the market on Ranong Rd and were returning along Soi Phuton about 9 am when…
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Phuket slated for ban on firearms
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police will slap a sweeping ban on firearm carrying in Phuket under a plan to strengthen security and orderliness in the island, the national police chief said today. Only police in uniforms will be permitted to carry firearms under the plan, the time frame for implementation of which has yet to be worked out, said Pol Gen…
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Goods valued at B2m netted in Rawai raid
RAWAI: Marine police today raided the 2nd Hand shop on Wiset Rd and seized boat parts they estimate to be worth more than two million baht. Officers raided the store after being tipped-off by an informant, who stands to receive a reward of 30% of the value of the goods determined by Customs. Officers asked shop owner Kaewta Brickley to…
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PM expected to launch “Seven Wonders’
PHUKET TOWN: The “Seven Wonders of Phuket” project, which aims to attract tourists to Phuket Town, gained momentum today with the news that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra might open the first Sunday of festivities on April 7. The announcement, made by Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok at a press conference, comes before three private companies – Kantana, JSL and All…
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Watchdogs rap Thaksin for media fiasco
PHUKET (AFP & Gazette reporters): In an address to the Phuket Reporters Club last night, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi declared his support for freedom of expression in the press. Reporters are not obligated to write only good things about government, he said, noting that criticisms were both “normal” and expected. The governor received a thundering round of applause, apparently in…
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Motorbike taxi rider shot dead
PATONG: Police have launched a murder investigation after a motorcycle taxi rider was shot dead on Patong Hill last night. A blood-stained red Honda Dream and three spent shells from a 11mm pistol marked the spot on the Bonsai Curve on Phra Barami Rd to which police were called at 1:35 am. At Wachira Phuket Hospital an autopsy on the…
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U.S. senator dismayed by Thai government
WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. Senator Jesse Helms on Monday slammed the Thai government’s move to expel two reporters, warning that their deportation could cause Washington to rethink its aid to Thailand. “The Thai government’s decision to expel an American journalist and one from Great Britain is the most recent move toward authoritarianism in Thailand,” said Helms, the ranking Republican on the…
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Phuket to get German consulate
PHUKET: The German government is to open a representative office in Phuket Town on April 1, to deal with passport and visa applications and to assist German nationals with legal and health issues. Dirk Naumann will act as representative of the German Embassy for Southern Thailand while awaiting his formal appointment as honorary consul, at which time the office will…
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Police order story off worldwide web
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police have today ordered The Economist magazine to take its controversial Thailand survey off its website, where it was made available for free after being barred from (hard-copy) distribution here. The Economist’s circulation director for Asia, Peter Bakker, said the company decided to put the 14-page survey on the website to serve readers and subscribers in Thailand…
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Economist magazine in trouble
BANGKOK (AFP): The latest edition of the Economist magazine is likely to be banned in Thailand over an article that referred to the monarchy, police said yesterday. “It’s highly likely that the authorities will impose a ban on the sale or distribution of the magazine here,” a Special Branch police source said. A police review found that a 14-page survey…
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Yellow boxes to help police
PHUKET TOWN: Ten yellow boxes will be placed in public areas around Phuket Town to allow people to provide written feedback to the police, including tip-offs, suggestions and criticism. The idea for the yellow boxes came from a focus group of 10 people from various walks of life, which was set up by police to evaluate police actions. In a…
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Phuket to be lab for English experiment
PHUKET: On a visit to Phuket’s schools yesterday, Education Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants to see Thais, particularly those in Phuket, speaking English as well as Singaporeans do. Phuket will be the first province to receive support in the government’s policy to improve English skills across the country, K. Suwit said. “We want to develop…
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Call for entries for tourism awards
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting applications for the 4th Thailand Tourism Awards, to be presented in every region of the country on World Tourism Day on September 27. The program was set up in 1996 by the TAT with the aim of improving administrative and service quality in the industry, and to support sustainable tourism. Trophies…
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